Fred Holle

• Name — Fred Holle • Born — 1931 • Birthplace — Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. • Field — painting, drawing, printmaking, art teacher

Fred Holle was born 1931 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Holle studied art at Layton School of Art in Milwaukee and Arizona State College (1950–1952). He completed his studies at San Diego State College (between 1956–1960), where he earned a BA degree in 1958 and MA degree in 1960. Holle served in the United States Navy Hospital Corps (1952–1956).

Holle considers drawing to be the foundation of all his work and constantly draws from models, partly for the great pleasure it affords but primarily to maintain perceptual sensitivity and to obtain fresh data to fill a reservoir of images that may be tapped, when needed, for his paintings and prints. Alfred Frankenstein writes: "He is a remarkable figure draftsman, with something of the fire and freedom of young Rico Lebrun in his sketches... In the late 1950s, when he was working at the La Jolla Art Center, he created paintings and woodcuts in the style of Abstract Expressionism. He was among the most respected artists belonging to the core of the contemporary painters working in Southern California. Around 1964, Holle made a transition to figurative art starting with a series of figural paintings and gesture drawings called "Steppenwolf". After that, the GNOMEGAME Series of paintings and digital prints (created through the freehand use of a Wacom pad and Stylus on the computer) became Holle's lifelong "vehicles" of expression.